


you've impressed upon me

by frozensight



Series: a whole new world (literally) [21]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 05:03:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12162087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozensight/pseuds/frozensight
Summary: Stormtroopers are to be uniform. They are to be unique in their ability to be a cohesive unit and not ask questions. Stormtroopers don't have names: they have designations. Above all, stormtroopers aren't allowed to know the words of their soulmate because according to the First Order -- stormtroopers don't have souls.





	you've impressed upon me

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: the one where the first thing they say to you appears as a tattoo

There's a scar where his words used to be, and FN-2187 stares at it sometimes before lights out in the barracks. It's not very long, not like what some of his squadmates have, and that makes him all the more worried. Because one-worded orders get thrown at FN-2187 all day, every week. He has no way of knowing if he's already met his soulmate or even if he ever will.

That, he guesses, was the First Order's intent when they burned the words off in the first place.

FN-2187 tries not to think about it much, but when he does, he hopes that his soulmate -- whoever they are -- at least has his words on their skin.

He also hopes that they stay far away from the First Order because even though it keeps them away from him, it keeps _them_ safe.

///

Poe isn't really paying attention when the stormtrooper comes into the cell and says something about Ren wanting him. He's tired, his head hurts, and did he mention he's tired?

Normally, he'd be plotting to escape from the stormtrooper's grip on his arm because even though his hands are bound together in front of him, Poe's been in worse situations. However, he's still recovering from whatever the _fuck_ Ren did to his head to get the information about BB-8, so for the moment he figures plodding along with the stormtrooper is just as well, even if they are headed to wherever Ren went.

They're walking down a corridor that Poe can't say he recognizes -- though that's also not surprising, every corridor on this ship looks the same to Poe -- when the stormtrooper pushes him towards a small gap in the wall and whispers, "Turn here!"

Poe's brain stalls as the stormtrooper faces him after they're in the gap and continues, "Listen carefully: if you do exactly as I say, I can get you out of here."

"What?" is all Poe can get out because the two words that have been on the inside of his right arm for as long as he can remember are tingling. He definitely hadn't expected to hear them spoken to him in the middle of an enemy ship, _by_ the enemy.

The stormtrooper takes off his helmet, and Poe can't help but think, ' _I never thought one of them might **actually** be cute underneath._ '

"This is a rescue," declares the stormtrooper confidently. "I'm helping you escape. Can you fly a tie-fighter?"

Poe examines the stormtrooper's face. "You're with the Resistance?"

It wouldn't be completely impossible. Poe had heard about a few spies the General had sent into the ranks of the First Order, but he didn't think he'd actually luck out and be on the same ship as one. (Then again, he also didn't think he'd get captured on Jakku in the first place.)

"What?" The stormtrooper asks incredulously, shaking his head slightly, "No, no no. I'm breaking you out. Can you fly a tie-fighter?"

Before the stormtrooper even finishes speaking, Poe says firmly, "I can fly anything." Poe takes in the stormtrooper's expression. It's a mix of genuine apprehension and false bravado as he lets out a short triumphant breath. "Why are you helping me?"

Firming his face into an expression of determination, the stormtrooper responds, "Because it's the right thing to do."

Poe watches him for a moment. "You need a pilot."

Defeated, the stormtrooper's face loses the false bravado as he repeats, "I need a pilot."

The two words etched into Poe's skin are burning now -- like a fire waking up from embers -- and Poe can't help but grin. "We're gonna do this."

Cautious but hopeful, the stormtrooper asks, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, now unlock these cuffs and tell me the plan."

Poe's arm continues to burn as the stormtrooper talks, but now isn't the time to ask if he feels it too. Now's the time for fast flying and quick thinking. He can ask about what happens to a stormtrooper's words after they find BB-8.

///

As it turns out, things don't slow down enough for Poe to ask until after Rey leaves to find Luke Skywalker, and even then, he still has to wait for Finn to wake up.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up too high, Commander." Poe turns his head to see General Organa standing behind his chair, her eyes trained on the rise and fall of Finn's chest like Poe's had been.

"What do you mean, ma'am?"

"Stormtroopers, even back in the Empire, were never allowed to keep their words. I doubt the First Order has abandoned this practice simply because they've stopped cloning their armies."

"How did -- ?"

"After so many years, you start to sense these things." General Organa shrugs, a soft smile on her face as she lets a hand trace over a pattern on the inside of her own left arm. The action seems absentminded, and Poe quickly averts his eyes. "Let me know when he wakes up. I'd like to thank him for his help."

///

It takes Finn a bit to really grasp what Poe is trying to tell him.

"You think that we're soulmates?" he asks, for what is probably the tenth time that particular conversation.

Poe nods, hopeful expression still on his face. It makes Finn's stomach flutter a bit, and he wishes Poe would quit it. "I've known since the day we met, buddy."

Finn closes his eyes and thinks back to the day he helped Poe escape from Ren. Had he felt any different in that brief time he'd known Poe before they crash landed on that forsaken planet? Of course he had -- he'd risked his life for a complete stranger, but that didn't mean anything. Finn had just wanted to get off the destroyer and away from the First Order, and he had needed a pilot.

"How -- how can you know for sure?" Finn opens his eyes, but can't bring himself to look at Poe. Instead his eyes train on the scar on the inside of his left arm where his words should be. "It's not like we can check."

"I don't need to check, Finn; I just know it."

His voice is so certain, so hopeful, it makes Finn's chest hurt. "B-But how can you _know_? I can't even remember what the first thing you said to me was!"

Poe laughs, and from the corner of his eye, Finn sees him shrug. "I think it was just 'what,' actually. I was pretty stunned that a stormtrooper had said my words and I'd just been tortured by Ren -- I didn't really have the capacity for being eloquent." He sighs, a hand reaching out to rest over the scar on Finn's arm. "Listen, Finn, I don't need to see your words. I know what I felt when you said mine, and that's all I'll ever need, okay?"

"But if I said yours and you felt something, shouldn't I have felt something when you said mine?"

The hand on his arm tightens, and Finn shivers. "Everyone reacts to the moment differently. It's not an exact science. No two people have the same reaction to hearing their words. Pava wasn't sure about her girlfriend until they kissed, and Snap's wife refused to believe him until their third date. Just give me a chance to prove I'm right."

Finn can't help the shaky laugh that leaves his mouth. "You saying you wanna kiss me, Dameron?"

"Only if you want," says Poe, and Finn's heart beats faster. There's a moment of silence before Poe asks softly, "Do you want me to kiss you, Finn?"

The skin under Poe's arm feels like it's on fire, and suddenly Finn knows what Poe's been talking about. He closes his eyes and then looks up at Poe, who's watching Finn hopefully, but nervously. It's reassuring, somehow, that despite Poe's certainty, he's still unsure. Eyes locked, Finn licks his lips, a small smile inching onto his lips as he says, "Yeah, I think I do."

Poe smiles back, relief blooming over his face, and Finn can't help but echo the response. He moves his arm so that he can hold Poe's hand, the fire still dancing on his skin wherever he made contact with Poe, and before he could think twice, he leans forward, trusting Poe to meet him.

The kiss leaves Finn's lips tingling, and Poe continues to beam at him. "Do you believe me now?" he asks softly, their foreheads touching as they watch each other.  
Finn closes his eyes, a small huff escaping him before he meets Poe's eyes again. "You're nothing but trouble, Poe Dameron."

Barking out a surprised laugh, Poe says, "Maybe, but am I worth it?"

They're both silent for a beat as Poe awaits Finn's answer, and all Finn can think about is how much he wants to kiss him again.

"I think you're worth all the trouble in the universe," mumbles Finn, brushing Poe's lips with his before pressing against them.

**Author's Note:**

> i watched those five minutes of tfa like a thousand times for that first meeting so i could transcribe it and i regret nothing


End file.
